Shutdown has vast reach into San Diego region

The wreckage of a single-engine plane rests on Volcan Mountain near Julian on Thursday. Federal investigators did not respond to the site of the crash, though the FAA says all crashes will be probed even when on-site visits are not possible during the federal government shutdown. Two bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane.| Photo by John Gibbins/U-T San Diego

The wreckage of a single-engine plane rests on Volcan Mountain near Julian on Thursday. Federal investigators did not respond to the site of the crash, though the FAA says all crashes will be probed even when on-site visits are not possible during the federal government shutdown. Two bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane.| Photo by John Gibbins/U-T San Diego

While not as dramatic as the closure of Yosemite National Park or the Smithsonian, there are countless behind-the-scenes impacts in San Diego County stemming from the federal government’s work stoppage.

Halted across the region are routine federal workplace safety checks, the inspection of imported seafood and construction permitting near federal waterways. School children can’t visit the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, where bird counts and habitat restoration is on hold at the shuttered natural resource.

In some cases, it’s too early to say how the scaling back of these lesser-known federal roles will impact the public, say representatives from the building, environmental and social service communities. But all say an extended work stoppage is unwelcome.

With the shutdown at 10 days, the federal government continues to provide core services, including the protection of life and property by the military plus air traffic control and border patrol. As recently as this week, federal officials were also still inspecting local rail crossings for safety, according to a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit System, which runs San Diego’s trolley network.

Yet, there are other roles where a federal presence is absent.

In the backcountry near Julian, for example, no federal officials showed up on-site Thursday to investigate the cause of a small plane crash that left two people dead, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Using evidence from law enforcement, the Federal Aviation Administration will still conduct “a basic investigation” from afar for all crashes, the FAA said early this week. But with many of its workers furloughed, the agency “is not responding to all (general aviation) accidents with on-site investigation,” it added.

“If they’re not, it’s a shame,” said Bill Howell, a Santee resident who flies recreational aircraft across the county. “(Federal investigations) capture a lot of important data that other pilots use to avoid errors.”

Meetings cancelled

Further outside the spotlight, development projects and environmental initiatives are slowing down. Whether someone is applying to build a shopping mall or create a habitat conservation plan, they often need approvals from federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

But meetings between developers and federal regulators aren’t happening right now, said Dan Silver, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Environmental Habitats League.

“(Applicants) can’t get the answers they need. The process just stalls,” said Silver, who often advocates for environmental projects in San Diego County. “All those (federal) agencies are crucial for public works projects, for private projects. They have essential, required roles to play. When they’re not there, it causes delays in time and money.”

Borre Winckel, president and CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego, said he expects the shutdown will be “a bump in the road for us, if at all.”

“It’s too soon to say what impact the partial government shutdown has on our industry,” said Winckel. “I wouldn’t anticipate much of a fallout in the short-term.”

Social services

The federal government continues to pick up its share of the costs of a number of social service programs, including health care, aid to disadvantaged schools, food stamps and assistance to the aged and disabled.